The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of manufacturing honeycomb panels. Honeycomb panels are well known and are used for a variety of purposes in which lightweight yet strong building panels are required. The making of panels is also well known and comprises the primary steps of (1) expanding a center honeycomb panel, (2) curing the expanded panel and (3) sandwiching the panel between opposing face sheets by the use of adhesive. Mass production of these panels has been done by a continuous process in which the panels are expanded and rolled to proper shape and continued onward through a curing chamber. In a separate step, face sheets are bonded to the panels. Any change in the size of the panel being manufactured requires that the entire operation be stopped and that adjustments are made so that the new size panels can be produced. The changeover time is lengthy and becomes very expensive and inefficient when panels of greatly varying sizes and small numbers are required.
The present invention provides for varying the shape and size of panels being manufactured without sacrificing speed, quality or efficiency. In this manner, a specification requiring several different size panels can be produced in an efficient manner with little loss of time for changing the manufacturing machinery. The present invention allows variability in the size of each individual panel that is being produced. The changeover time is relatively small. In this manner, panels can be manufactured which closely meet the user's specifications and do not require later modification.
The flexibility in production is not possible with other honeycomb panel manufacturing devices. Although other devices are capable of producing large quantities of panels, they are not capable of producing variable sizes and shapes in an efficient manner. The present device allows production of wide ranging shapes and sizes to fit the specific job in a fast manner which maintains uniformity, thereby increasing quality.
In addition to solving this problem, the present invention solves numerous other problems associated with the prior art.